NEW AGE SPIRITUALITY

People nowadays are rejecting the one and only true living God of the Bible and instead are mixing many different beliefs to form their own personal "spirituality." This new age spirituality says that God is everything and that everything and everyone is God. This new age spirituality claims that death and sin are just an illusion, that you create your own heaven or hell. This new age spirituality claims that reincarnation occurs until a person reaches oneness with God. And this new age spirituality claims that Jesus Christ was just a man, someone to be looked at as a teacher, someone who became an "ascended master," and that Jesus is not needed as our Saviour because we all have the potential to become like God.

But the Bible tells us something very different about who God is, who Jesus Christ is, who the Holy Spirit is, and what is mankind's relationship to God. Let's search the Scriptures to see just how dangerous it is when one begins to believe that they are equal to God. Here are some of the topics that will be covered:

(1) ARE YOU GOD, TOO?AM I GOD?

(2) IS THE NEW AGE PHILOSOPHY REALLY "NEW"?

(3) GOD'S TRUTH EXCHANGED FOR A LIE

(4) WHY IS THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT SO POPULAR?

(5) IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN CLAIM TO BE GOD?

I originally wrote these pages to give to a person I know who has become interested in the new age movement. Interestingly enough, after reading this, the person has become very standoffish towards me. All I can say is "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? (Galatians 4:16)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(1) ARE YOU GOD, TOO? AM I GOD?

When you first read some of the new age literature, it sounds pretty harmless. You read of love and oneness and peace and truth. It all sounds very positive. You may even see some Bible verses referenced -- verses such as "the Spirit of God dwells in you" or "God loves you, you have been chosen." But the new age literature then takes it a step further. The new age belief system teaches that since God created you and the Spirit of God lives in you, then you, too, must be God. This is where the new age spirituality has now twisted God's Word and has entered into a dangerous, rebellious position against the only true and living God. Let's see what the Bible has to say about who God is and whether or not we can ever be His equal.

Isaiah 42:8, "I am the Lord; that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."

Isaiah 45:5, "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God besides me."

Isaiah 44:6, 8, "Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God."

Isaiah 43:10, "...I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no saviour."

Isaiah 45:18, "For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord, and there is none else."

God's Word is very clear that there is one God and that He does not intend to share His glory with his creation, period! But now we have this "new age" teaching that says, "You, too, are God." But as we will see, this type of mindset isn't really so new after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(2) IS THE NEW AGE PHILOSOPHY REALLY "NEW"?

Wanting to be equal to God, is nothing new. Let's read of the first created being who desired to be as God. His words are in Isaiah 14:14. "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High."

Who said these words? Lucifer, Satan, the devil himself. As a matter of fact, Satan later even filled Adam and Eve's heads with the same foolish notions. He lied to them and told them to go against God's instructions. Satan said, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.." (Genesis 3:5).

Whenever you hear someone whisper to you, "you can be like God," they are repeating the words of the devil himself! They are giving you evil counsel that will lead you to a place of ultimate destruction.

Let's see how God felt when Lucifer wished to become equal to Him. Ezekiel 28:2, 7-9 reads, "...Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God ... behold therefore, I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee."

Satan will fall and be cast into the lowest depths of hell because of his desire to be as God and because of his rebellion against God, and the same fate awaits all others who choose to elevate themselves to equal standing with God. Let's read additional verses that describe what awaits Lucifer because of his wanting to be as God. Isaiah 14:15-17, (Speaking of Satan) "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?"

Hell was created for satan and all of the angels who joined satan in rebellion against God. People of this day who desire to model satan's wish to become as God have the same fate awaiting them (hell) if they don't realize who the one true and living God is and turn from their sins and accept God's gift of grace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(3) GOD'S TRUTH EXCHANGED FOR A LIE

We all have the true knowledge of who God is written on our hearts, but new age spiritualists choose to exchange the truth of God for a lie. Romans 1:18-20, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"

People, including new agers, know in their hearts who God is and that they themselves are not God, but they choose to become vain and worship themselves as God. The rest of Romans speaks on this:

Romans 1:21-23, "because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man..."

When you begin to think that you are the same as your Creator, it is similar to a vase created by hand out of potter's clay turning around and saying to the potter, "I am you." That clay will never become that man who formed it, and you will never become God. Romans 9:20 speaks on this: "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay?"

The Bible clearly shows that we are not God, and no matter how good we think we are or how much kind work we do or how enlightened we become, we will never attain equality with God. Romans 3:23 reads, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." And Isaiah 64:6 reads, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags." And 1 John 1:8 tells us, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." So if God's Word is telling you that you fall short of God's glory and that your righteousness is as filthy rags, and some sinful man is telling you that you, too, have God potential, who are you going to believe?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(4) WHY IS THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT SO POPULAR?

People are attracted to new age teachings and beliefs because the idea of being God-like is much more attractive than the knowledge that you are a sinner who deserves hell. But what are you going to say when you die and come face to face with the one true righteous God? When God shows you how you've broken every commandment and how you rejected Jesus Christ as your Savior, will you tell Him then that you qualify for heaven because you, too, are God? Hebrews 9:27 tells us, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." And Romans 14:10, 12, reads,"...For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ...So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." If you do not today open your eyes and see that you are not god-like and that instead you are a sinner in need of a Savior, you will face the sad truth later when it is too late for you.

God made a way for us to be able to stand before Him on judgment day innocent, a way for us to be adopted into His family now and forever. No, you cannot be God, but you can be a child of God. But it is nothing that we can do in and of ourselves. It was something done for us long ago at Calvary. Romans 5:8-9 reads, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."

Don't let the new age way of thinking deceive you into rejecting God's gift of salvation. People who practice new age principles have nothing in common with God. Someone who disobeys God's Words found in the Bible is someone who doesn't even have fellowship with God. John 8:47 tells us, "He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God." New agers reject Christ, deny the existence of heaven and hell, distort the truths of the Bible, and are in rebellion to God.

You only have two choices: You are either for God or against Him. If you reject God and the sacrifice God made for you by having Christ die at Calvary for your sins and instead choose some man-made spirituality, then you will die in your sins and eternally be separated from God. John 8:42-44 reads, "Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me; for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do..."

New age spirituality in all of its different forms and names is really just man's attempt to get away from the one true and living God. We are given many warnings against such teachings. Jeremiah 23:16-17 reads, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you; they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you."

And Colossians 2:8-10 warns, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power."

These verses are warning you not to fill your mind and heart with useless words from sinful man. New agers promise happiness and fulfillment in a man-made lie. God's Word tells us, "But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(5) IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN CLAIM TO BE GOD?

In conclusion, there was only one man who ever walked the earth who could claim to be God: Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 3:16 reads, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up unto glory."

And John 1:1-3, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." And John 1:14, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

And in Hebrews 1:8-9, God calls Jesus God. "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

Jesus was not just an enlightened master or teacher, and Jesus did not claim to be teaching mankind the truth; He claimed that He was the Truth. In John 14:6, it reads, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." What Jesus taught is important, but what is more important is who Jesus is. Jesus is God, and He is our only way to approach God. 1 Timothy 2:5 tells us, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all..."

Again, what are you going to choose? New age spirituality or Jesus Christ as your Savior?

Question: "Who is God?"

Answer: Who is God? What is God? How can we know God?

Who is God? - The Fact
The fact of God’s existence is so conspicuous, both through creation and through man’s conscience, that the Bible calls the atheist a “fool” (Psalm 14:1). Accordingly, the Bible never attempts to prove the existence of God; rather, it assumes His existence from the very beginning (Genesis 1:1). What the Bible does is reveal the nature, character, and work of God.

Who is God? - The Definition
Thinking correctly about God is of utmost importance because a false idea about God is idolatry. In Psalm 50:21, God reproves the wicked man with this accusation: “You thought I was altogether like you.” To start with, a good summary definition of God is “the Supreme Being; the Creator and Ruler of all that is; the Self-existent One who is perfect in power, goodness, and wisdom.”

Who is God? - His Nature
We know certain things to be true of God for one reason: in His mercy He has condescended to reveal some of His qualities to us. God is spirit, by nature intangible (John 4:24). God is One, but He exists as three Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17). God is infinite (1 Timothy 1:17), incomparable (2 Samuel 7:22), and unchanging (Malachi 3:6). God exists everywhere (Psalm 139:7-12), knows everything (Psalm 147:5; Isaiah 40:28), and has all power and authority (Ephesians 1; Revelation 19:6).

Who is God? - His Character
Here are some of God’s characteristics as revealed in the Bible: God is just (Acts 17:31), loving (Ephesians 2:4-5), truthful (John 14:6), and holy (1 John 1:5). God shows compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3), mercy (Romans 9:15), and grace (Romans 5:17). God judges sin (Psalm 5:5) but also offers forgiveness (Psalm 130:4).

Who is God? - His Work
We cannot understand God apart from His works, because what God does flows from who He is. Here is an abbreviated list of God’s works, past, present, and future: God created the world (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 42:5); He actively sustains the world (Colossians 1:17); He is executing His eternal plan (Ephesians 1:11) which involves the redemption of man from the curse of sin and death (Galatians 3:13-14); He draws people to Christ (John 6:44); He disciplines His children (Hebrews 12:6); and He will judge the world (Revelation 20:11-15).

Who is God? - A Relationship with Him
In the Person of the Son, God became incarnate (John 1:14). The Son of God became the Son of Man and is therefore the “bridge” between God and man (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5). It is only through the Son that we can have forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7), reconciliation with God (John 15:15; Romans 5:10), and eternal salvation (2 Timothy 2:10). In Jesus Christ “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). So, to really know who God is, all we have to do is look at Jesus.

Question: "Is there an argument for the existence of God?"

Answer: The question of whether there is a conclusive argument for the existence of God has been debated throughout history, with exceedingly intelligent people taking both sides of the dispute. In recent times, arguments against the possibility of God’s existence have taken on a militant spirit that accuses anyone daring to believe in God as being delusional and irrational. Karl Marx asserted that anyone believing in God must have a mental disorder that caused invalid thinking. The psychiatrist Sigmund Freud wrote that a person who believed in a Creator God was delusional and only held those beliefs due to a “wish-fulfillment” factor that produced what Freud considered to be an unjustifiable position. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche bluntly said that faith equates to not wanting to know what is true. The voices of these three figures from history (along with others) are simply now parroted by a new generation of atheists who claim that a belief in God is intellectually unwarranted.

Is this truly the case? Is belief in God a rationally unacceptable position to hold? Is there a logical and reasonable argument for the existence of God? Outside of referencing the Bible, can a case for the existence of God be made that refutes the positions of both the old and new atheists and gives sufficient warrant for believing in a Creator? The answer is, yes, it can. Moreover, in demonstrating the validity of an argument for the existence of God, the case for atheism is shown to be intellectually weak.

To make an argument for the existence of God, we must start by asking the right questions. We begin with the most basic metaphysical question: “Why do we have something rather than nothing at all?” This is the basic question of existence—why are we here; why is the earth here; why is the universe here rather than nothing? Commenting on this point, one theologian has said, “In one sense man does not ask the question about God, his very existence raises the question about God.”

In considering this question, there are four possible answers to why we have something rather than nothing at all:

1. Reality is an illusion.
2. Reality is/was self-created.
3. Reality is self-existent (eternal).
4. Reality was created by something that is self-existent.

So, which is the most plausible solution? Let’s begin with reality being simply an illusion, which is what a number of Eastern religions believe. This option was ruled out centuries ago by the philosopher Rene Descartes who is famous for the statement, “I think, therefore I am.” Descartes, a mathematician, argued that if he is thinking, then he must “be.” In other words, “I think, therefore I am not an illusion.” Illusions require something experiencing the illusion, and moreover, you cannot doubt the existence of yourself without proving your existence; it is a self-defeating argument. So the possibility of reality being an illusion is eliminated.

Next is the option of reality being self-created. When we study philosophy, we learn of “analytically false” statements, which means they are false by definition. The possibility of reality being self-created is one of those types of statements for the simple reason that something cannot be prior to itself. If you created yourself, then you must have existed prior to you creating yourself, but that simply cannot be. In evolution this is sometimes referred to as “spontaneous generation” —something coming from nothing—a position that few, if any, reasonable people hold to anymore simply because you cannot get something from nothing. Even the atheist David Hume said, “I never asserted so absurd a proposition as that anything might arise without a cause.” Since something cannot come from nothing, the alternative of reality being self-created is ruled out.

Now we are left with only two choices—an eternal reality or reality being created by something that is eternal: an eternal universe or an eternal Creator. The 18th-century theologian Jonathan Edwards summed up this crossroads:

• Something exists.
• Nothing cannot create something.
• Therefore, a necessary and eternal “something” exists.

Notice that we must go back to an eternal “something.” The atheist who derides the believer in God for believing in an eternal Creator must turn around and embrace an eternal universe; it is the only other door he can choose. But the question now is, where does the evidence lead? Does the evidence point to matter before mind or mind before matter?

To date, all key scientific and philosophical evidence points away from an eternal universe and toward an eternal Creator. From a scientific standpoint, honest scientists admit the universe had a beginning, and whatever has a beginning is not eternal. In other words, whatever has a beginning has a cause, and if the universe had a beginning, it had a cause. The fact that the universe had a beginning is underscored by evidence such as the second law of thermodynamics, the radiation echo of the big bang discovered in the early 1900s, the fact that the universe is expanding and can be traced back to a singular beginning, and Einstein’s theory of relativity. All prove the universe is not eternal.

Further, the laws that surround causation speak against the universe being the ultimate cause of all we know for this simple fact: an effect must resemble its cause. This being true, no atheist can explain how an impersonal, purposeless, meaningless, and amoral universe accidentally created beings (us) who are full of personality and obsessed with purpose, meaning, and morals. Such a thing, from a causation standpoint, completely refutes the idea of a natural universe birthing everything that exists. So in the end, the concept of an eternal universe is eliminated.

Philosopher J. S. Mill (not a Christian) summed up where we have now come to: “It is self-evident that only Mind can create mind.” The only rational and reasonable conclusion is that an eternal Creator is the one who is responsible for reality as we know it. Or to put it in a logical set of statements:

• Something exists.
• You do not get something from nothing.
• Therefore a necessary and eternal “something” exists.
• The only two options are an eternal universe and an eternal Creator.
• Science and philosophy have disproven the concept of an eternal universe.
• Therefore, an eternal Creator exists.

Former atheist Lee Strobel, who arrived at this end result many years ago, has commented, “Essentially, I realized that to stay an atheist, I would have to believe that nothing produces everything; non-life produces life; randomness produces fine-tuning; chaos produces information; unconsciousness produces consciousness; and non-reason produces reason. Those leaps of faith were simply too big for me to take, especially in light of the affirmative case for God's existence … In other words, in my assessment the Christian worldview accounted for the totality of the evidence much better than the atheistic worldview.”

But the next question we must tackle is this: if an eternal Creator exists (and we have shown that He does), what kind of Creator is He? Can we infer things about Him from what He created? In other words, can we understand the cause by its effects? The answer to this is yes, we can, with the following characteristics being surmised:

• He must be supernatural in nature (as He created time and space).
• He must be powerful (exceedingly).
• He must be eternal (self-existent).
• He must be omnipresent (He created space and is not limited by it).
• He must be timeless and changeless (He created time).
• He must be immaterial because He transcends space/physical.
• He must be personal (the impersonal cannot create personality).
• He must be infinite and singular as you cannot have two infinites.
• He must be diverse yet have unity as unity and diversity exist in nature.
• He must be intelligent (supremely). Only cognitive being can produce cognitive being.
• He must be purposeful as He deliberately created everything.
• He must be moral (no moral law can be had without a giver).
• He must be caring (or no moral laws would have been given).

These things being true, we now ask if any religion in the world describes such a Creator. The answer to this is yes: the God of the Bible fits this profile perfectly. He is supernatural (Genesis 1:1), powerful (Jeremiah 32:17), eternal (Psalm 90:2), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7), timeless/changeless (Malachi 3:6), immaterial (John 5:24), personal (Genesis 3:9), necessary (Colossians 1:17), infinite/singular (Jeremiah 23:24, Deuteronomy 6:4), diverse yet with unity (Matthew 28:19), intelligent (Psalm 147:4-5), purposeful (Jeremiah 29:11), moral (Daniel 9:14), and caring (1 Peter 5:6-7).

One last subject to address on the matter of God’s existence is the matter of how justifiable the atheist’s position actually is. Since the atheist asserts the believer’s position is unsound, it is only reasonable to turn the question around and aim it squarely back at him. The first thing to understand is that the claim the atheist makes—“no god,” which is what “atheist” means—is an untenable position to hold from a philosophical standpoint. As legal scholar and philosopher Mortimer Adler says, “An affirmative existential proposition can be proved, but a negative existential proposition—one that denies the existence of something—cannot be proved.” For example, someone may claim that a red eagle exists and someone else may assert that red eagles do not exist. The former only needs to find a single red eagle to prove his assertion. But the latter must comb the entire universe and literally be in every place at once to ensure he has not missed a red eagle somewhere and at some time, which is impossible to do. This is why intellectually honest atheists will admit they cannot prove God does not exist.

Next, it is important to understand the issue that surrounds the seriousness of truth claims that are made and the amount of evidence required to warrant certain conclusions. For example, if someone puts two containers of lemonade in front of you and says that one may be more tart than the other, since the consequences of getting the more tart drink would not be serious, you would not require a large amount of evidence in order to make your choice. However, if to one cup the host added sweetener but to the other he introduced rat poison, then you would want to have quite a bit of evidence before you made your choice.

This is where a person sits when deciding between atheism and belief in God. Since belief in atheism could possibly result in irreparable and eternal consequences, it would seem that the atheist should be mandated to produce weighty and overriding evidence to support his position, but he cannot. Atheism simply cannot meet the test for evidence for the seriousness of the charge it makes. Instead, the atheist and those whom he convinces of his position slide into eternity with their fingers crossed and hope they do not find the unpleasant truth that eternity does indeed exist. As Mortimer Adler says, “More consequences for life and action follow from the affirmation or denial of God than from any other basic question.”

So does belief in God have intellectual warrant? Is there a rational, logical, and reasonable argument for the existence of God? Absolutely. While atheists such as Freud claim that those believing in God have a wish-fulfillment desire, perhaps it is Freud and his followers who actually suffer from wish-fulfillment: the hope and wish that there is no God, no accountability, and therefore no judgment. But refuting Freud is the God of the Bible who affirms His existence and the fact that a judgment is indeed coming for those who know within themselves the truth that He exists but suppress that truth (Romans 1:20). But for those who respond to the evidence that a Creator does indeed exist, He offers the way of salvation that has been accomplished through His Son, Jesus Christ: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13).

Below you will find a letter that I wrote to a friend of mine. I would also like to share with you, friend, this same letter. But first, I have a question for you: Are you ready to die?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


Friend, If you were to die today, do you know without a doubt that your name is written in God's Book of Life and that you would go to heaven? Are you saved?

Being "saved" does not just mean that you know that Jesus died on the cross and that He is God. Even the devil knows that much, but the devil is not saved. Being saved does not just mean that you know John 3:16 by heart (For God so loved the world...). Even the devil can quote Scripture. Being saved does not mean that you walked up to the front of church when they had an altar call and that you mumbled a few words and then continued to live any way you pleased.

* Being saved means that at some point you realized that you are a sinner who deserves hell. Why do you deserve hell? You deserve hell because you have broken God's commandments. You have either stolen; lied; lusted after someone; hated; had false gods in your life; used God's name in vain; dishonored your mother and father; coveted something that belonged to someone else; or have not loved the Lord, your God, with all of your soul and with all of your mind. And if you say you have not done one or all of those things, you are breaking God's commandment right now by lying! For the Bible reads, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (1 John 1:10). So, again, being saved means that first you must see God's righteousness and realize that you have broken God's laws and commands by your unrighteousness.

* Being saved means that you recognize that a righteous, just, Holy God requires that a price must be paid by those who have broken the Law, His commandments, just as a judge in a courtroom requires those who break the laws of society to pay for their crime. What is the penalty for breaking God's laws? "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8). So even if your only transgression was a lie, you are counted as a lawbreaker who must pay the price.

* Being saved means that you realize that nothing you could do on your own could save yourself -- church membership doesn't save you, good works don't save you. Only being washed in Christ's blood can save you. Jesus died on the cross to pay a debt He did not owe because we owe a debt that we cannot pay. 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He hath made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." It is God's grace, Christ's blood, and our faith that saves us, not our good works. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

* So in conclusion, salvation can be yours if you turn from your sins, turn to God, and ask Christ into your life as your Lord and Savior: "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19). "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).

So, friend, have you asked Christ to be your Savior and Lord?

......................................


Now, If your answer to the above question is "Yes," then I want to share this with you: If you are truly saved, that should show itself in your life. Nothing that we can do on our own will save us, but if you are truly saved and born again and Christ is your Lord, then it should be His voice and instructions that you obey. You should walk the way that He wants you to walk. His will should come before all others.

As long as you live on this earth, you will be tempted by sin. But as believers we should strive to live holy and righteous lives. If you are still comfortable sinning, then maybe you are not really saved. "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Are you "new," friend? Don't fool yourself into believing that Jesus' dying on the cross gives you liberty to do as you please. If today you are still lying, stealing, fornicating, hating, dishonoring your mother and father, taking the Lord's name in vain, or breaking any of God's other commandments with no fear of the Lord and no concern over your unrighteous behavior, I would say you are probably not saved at all. You are just fooling yourself and will one day face God's wrath.

Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

Hebrews 10:26-27, "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries."
I hope that you are saved, friend. I would hate for even one person, especially a friend, to die and go to hell because I didn't take the time to tell them how to get to heaven. Now you have been shown the truth. You can make a decision today that will change where you spend eternity!

John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

(For further reading on this subject, an excellent article detailing the evidence that should be in your life if you are truly born again can be found here: EVIDENCE.

And for more on this topic, go here: REPENTANCE.)

Hell is Real

"I don't believe in hell." "Hell is not real." And then there is the ever popular "I believe that hell is right here on earth." How many of you have heard people make one of these comments concerning the validity of hell? Well, I have heard people make these statements or comments similar to these on more than one occasion, and I just wanted to show everyone once and for all that hell is real!

In this paper I will use the Bible to try to open the eyes of those who are fooling themselves into believing that hell is not real. And speaking of the Bible, did you know that in the Bible, there is verse after verse talking about hell? There are about 50 verses containing the word "hell" and referring to hell as a place. There are over 17 verses that speak of a literal "lake of fire" or "eternal fire," which is hell. There are at least 10 verses that touch upon some of the suffering that will go on in hell, referring to "weeping" "gnashing of teeth," "eternal punishment." There are verses that speak of the separation that one will experience in hell, referring to "outer darkness." In total, there are about 162 verses in the New Testament alone which speak of this final eternal place of torment for those who die in their sins. As a matter of fact, Jesus Christ himself made many references to hell!

So, first of all, if you do not believe in hell, you obviously do not read your Bible, and, secondly, in denying the existence of hell, you are calling Jesus a liar.

Now, you don't have to take my word for it. I will show you verses so that you can see them for yourself. Here are some topics I will cover as we go:

(1) The Bible's description of hell and why I know that hell is not here on earth

(2) Why did God create hell?

(3) Who will end up in hell?

(4) What are some of the things Jesus said about hell?

(5) What is the only way to avoid hell?

And I will warn you ahead of time that this lesson on hell is kind of long. But I felt that this important topic deserved to be covered thoroughly. So go grab something cool and refreshing to drink, get comfortable, and let's get started...

______________________________________________________________________________

(1) THE BIBLE'S DESCRIPTION OF HELL

Hell is described in the Bible as a place of great despair, sorrow, and agony. Read the following verses, and you will see what I mean.

Matthew 8:11-12, "Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Matthew 13:41-42, "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

Matthew 13:49-50, "So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

Yes, hell is truly a place of torment. And those in hell will face not only physical torment, but mental anguish as well. For, you see, those in hell will be fully aware of the fact that they could have gone to heaven if only they had not chose to reject Christ. Luke 13:28, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out." In hell people will learn the true meaning of regret.



"BUT THE WORLD IS SO BAD NOW, I FEEL THAT HELL IS RIGHT HERE ON EARTH"

To those who say, "hell is right here on earth," you haven't seen the half of it. Think about it. No matter how bad things seem here on earth, your life here will some day end. You will live what? 80 years? 90 years? Then theoretically your death would put an end to this earthly so-called hell. Here on earth you have an escape from all sickness or evil. Death is your escape.

But the real hell which awaits those who reject the Lord IS NEVER OVER. That is how I know that hell is not here on earth, because where hell is concerned, there is no escape! Mark 9:44 says that hell is "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." And Matthew 25:46 tells us, "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." And in Revelation 14:11 we read, "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night..." Friend, a heart attack cannot end the true hell. A bullet to the head will not end hell. Nothing will put an end to the torment of hell.

Your worst experience here on earth pales in comparison to the place called hell that Jesus spoke of. Therefore, comparing the evil that is happening on earth to hell is like comparing a slight sunburn to being set on fire -- a fire that cannot be quenched. There is no comparison!

______________________________________________________________________________

(2) WHY DID GOD CREATE HELL?

Now you might be thinking, "Why would God create and send people to a place as terrible as hell?" First, you have to realize that hell was not even originally created for people. Hell was created for Satan and the angels that followed Satan. Matthew 25:41, "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

Second, you should know that God does not send anyone to hell. God does not want any person to go to hell. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Hell was never intended for man. But if a person rejects Jesus Christ, thereby rejecting heaven, then that person must accompany Satan forever. God gives us a choice, either eternal life with Him or eternal suffering with the devil. You would think that it would be an easy choice for people to make, but, unfortunately, many people reject Jesus Christ and God's offer of heaven.

And God will not force heaven or Jesus on anyone. There will not be one person in heaven who did not want to be there. So if a person chooses to reject Christ, that person has chosen hell for himself or herself. God did not send them there.

Sadly, there are going to be a whole lot of people in hell, even so-called nice people. So many in fact that hell had to be enlarged! Isaiah 5:14, "Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure."

God died on the cross for your sins to make a way for you to get to heaven. If you reject His free gift, there is no one to blame but yourself. It has been said that the door of hell is locked from the inside.

______________________________________________________________________________

(3) WHO WILL END UP IN HELL?

There are a lot of so-called good people who are going to find themselves in hell, and there are a lot of people that this world would label as bad who are going to make it to heaven. Why is that? Because the only truly "good" thing that you can do that counts towards your salvation is to repent and accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. And the only unpardonable "evil" thing that you can do is to never accept Christ as your Savior. When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, your name is written in the Book of Life. If you die and your name isn't written in the Book of life, Revelation 20:15 warns "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

2 Thessalonians 1:8b-9 also shows us that those who die without believing in Christ will go to hell: "Them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power."

So in general, anyone who dies without repenting of their sin and asking Christ to be their Savior and Lord will end up in hell.

Now, here are some more verses detailing those who will end up in hell. (Keep in mind that there is no sin too big that Jesus' blood cannot cover it. But if you insist on rejecting Christ and you die in your sins, these verses show you the fate that awaits you):

Revelation 21:8, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

Psalms 9:17, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."

1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

Revelation 14:11, "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."

______________________________________________________________________________

(4) WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT HELL?

Jesus made it clear that hell is real and that you should do everything possible to avoid going there. Here are just a few of the things He said concerning hell:

Luke 12:4-5, "And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Matthew 5:29-30, "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."

Matthew 10:28, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Jesus wanted us to know that the people or things of this world are not to be feared, that there are worst things than whatever this world throws your way. Christ wanted you to be concerned about what would happen to you eternally after you died.

And Jesus illustrated in a very dramatic way that you should do whatever you have to do to keep yourself from hell. It is better to give up something (or someone) now than to hold on to those things (or people) and suffer eternal loss in hell later.

And I don't know about you, but since Jesus said that hell is real, I'm going to believe Him and heed His warning.

______________________________________________________________________________

(5) WHAT IS THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID HELL?

Many years ago the question was asked:, "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" (Matthew 23:33)

The only way to not end up in hell is to repent and ask Christ to be your Savior and Lord. Only Jesus can save you. Revelation 1:18 says this of Jesus: "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Again, Jesus is the only way!

______________________________________________________________________________

In conclusion, yes, hell is real, but if you are a follower of Christ, you have nothing to fear. Christ died on the cross at Calvary so that you could be with Him in heaven.

If you are not a true born-again follower of Christ, you do need to be concerned about hell. But living in denial will not help you. "Positive thinking" or saying that hell does not exist will not save you from hell.

I am reminded of an old joke, "What did the Jehovah's Witness and the Scientologist say to each other when they died and found themselves in hell? The Jehovah's Witness said, 'Hey, the elders told me that this place didn't exist.' And the Scientologist said, 'It's not really hot, and I'm not really here.'" Sadly, the end result for these people is no joke. There is nothing funny about hell.

God knew that people would try to pretend that hell doesn't exist. The Bible even speaks of all of those people, groups or individuals, who are living in sinful denial regarding hell. In Isaiah 28:15, it reads, "Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves."

Yes, there are many who have made lies their refuge. But, friend, lying to yourself or being in denial might give you a certain sense of comfort for now. But if you die without repenting of your sin and accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior, all of the denial in the world won't stop you from being in utter torment for eternity in that place that you tried to "wish" away. Hell is real, and there are going to be a lot of real people really suffering there.

Don't you want to by able to say these same words that David said: "For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell" (Psalms 86:13)? Well, then you'd better make sure your soul has been delivered by Jesus Christ before it is too late!

"For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation" (Hebrews 2:2-3).



(More reference verses: Isaiah 14:9, 15, Ezekiel 32:27, Numbers 16:30-33, Jude 1:7, Matthew 18:8, Matthew 22:13, Matthew 25:30, Matthew 24:51, Mark 3:29, Mark 9:43, Luke 16:23-27, 2 Peter 2:4, 2 Corinthians 5:10)

Can a person lose their salvation?

Have you ever lost something that was of great value to you? Perhaps you've lost money or jewelry. I know I have lost things in the past. But losing these things was accidental. It was not as though I intentionally put my money into pockets that had holes in them. I did not purposely put my bracelet on with the clasp unhooked and then swing my arm in big arcs in a field of tall grass. I did not leave the house with the notion in my head, "Yup, today I'm gonna go lose something." No, whenever I've lost anything, it was by accident. It was not something that came about because of a conscious effort on my part.

What point am I trying to make and why? Well, in many churches today and on many web sites, there seems to be this campaign to convince folks that no matter what, you cannot lose your salvation. But the people who state this make it seem as though salvation is something that the people worry could be accidentally lost. Therefore, they must assure the congregation of believers that this will never happen.

Then to really, really make the people feel secure, they stress that no matter how much you sin, you are safe. That, hey, if you said the "sinner's prayer" at an altar call and believed in Jesus for two minutes on Sunday in 1983 and then have spent the last 20 years involved in the cult of Baal or have been a practicing Buddhist or New-Ager, don't worry. You are still saved. There is even a catchy tag line that has been made up: "Once saved, Always saved." I'm sure you've heard that one before.

Well, this teaching is very dangerous for many reasons, and it is also unscriptural. Let me first say that, no, I do not believe that a person can unknowingly lose their salvation any more than I believe that a person can unknowingly receive the mark of the beast. But I do believe that it is possible to intentionally walk away from the Lord and choose sin over salvation. And because many churches are denying this fact, they are thereby (1) giving people a false sense of what salvation means, (2) giving people a license to sin, and (3) doing a great disservice to folks by making people believe that no matter what they choose to do or how much they choose sin over the Savior, "Once saved, Always saved."